It delivers what it's expected to deliver, and that's likely to make it a success with anyone who laughed his ass off two summers ago.

The film is constructed in such a way that suspension of disbelief isn't too hard because there's something universal in what Allen explores. Like Santa Claus, we know it's not real but the idea is so appealing that we go along with the fantasy.

As a movie, On Stranger Tides would have to be considered a failure. The story does not engage, the characters are stick figures, the action sequences are perfunctory, and the whole enterprise reeks of being a money-grab.

There are not a lot of laughs in Dan Rush's directorial debut, nor are there intended to be. Rush keeps the tone as light as possible, but no one would mistake this for anything other than a quirky, character-based drama.

Bridesmaids is bipolar filmmaking at its most disconcerting, with changes in tone so abrupt that they can cause whiplash. In part because of this and in part because the writing is often lazy and self-indulgent, the movie rarely works.

Perhaps the best thing that can be said about Thor is that it doesn't feel like a cookie-cutter superhero comic book origin story.

Overlong and at times tedious; the taste is gritty and lingers unpleasantly.

Satisfies on a visual and visceral level while leaving the intellectual one cold and shriveled and starving.

In some ways, it's a simple character drama, but the central conundrum disallows an uncomplicated interpretation. I was never bored.

Sadly, passion and romance are two ingredients missing from this melodrama, which does an excellent job of re-creating the Depression-era circus business.

Its unique take on a common subject lends freshness to the familiar and provides a worthy motivation for seeing this.

Scream 4 is so obsessed with the self-referential element that made the original Scream unique that it loses the capacity to be genuinely scary or funny.

The only thing surprising about this lackluster animated production is that it attracted an A-list voice cast.

It's amazing how a lifeless, pointless remake can provoke pangs of nostalgia about a mediocre movie.

Most of the humor in Your Highness is obvious, tepid, and often crude. There are some amusing one-liners but the majority of the comedy makes one realize how brilliant "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" is.

The movie's realistic portrayal of the ingredients that can lead to bullying and other forms of unkindness inflicted on outsiders by those in power, speaks strongly to viewers watching in the 21st century.

It's better than most dramas showing in multiplexes.

Although it would be an exaggeration to claim that Hanna "has it all," it is a richer and more compelling white-knuckler than the average roller coaster ride into tension and mystery.

If there's a complaint to be made about Insidious, it's that the film's second half is unable to live up to the impossibly high standards set by the first half.

Well paced and energetic; it's unlikely to bore anyone.

This movie isn't bad in the way some incompetently made movies are bad; this is bad because there's much skill evident in a pointless endeavor.

The special effects budget is on the high side but those effects serve the story rather than the other way around, and Paul is all the better for it.

The problem with the movie isn't the acting, it's the story, which falls considerably short of the promise of its premise. For a plot about super-intelligent people, the screenplay is surprisingly dumb.

In the best tradition of mystery thrillers of this sort, it satisfies enough on an emotional level that we're willing to forgive any intellectual, procedural, and logical shortcomings.

Jane Eyre is good enough to provide lovers of classic literature with a reason to venture to theaters without being subjected to a salacious or demeaning adaptation.

At least the werewolves in Red Riding Hood have teeth and, when in human form, they don't parade around shirtless.

Watching Battle Los Angeles is akin to observing someone else play a video game with top-notch production values. For a while, it's fun, but immersion is born of involvement.

Rango is the poster child for those who are anti-3-D, and a great reminder that genuine creativity doesn't need a gimmicky crutch to appeal to audiences.